The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 1000 GMT on Thursday:

** U.S. oil group ConocoPhillips has hired BNP Paribas to help sell its Nigerian assets, including on-shore, off-shore oil and gas fields and a stake in its LNG Brass facility, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

** Shell moved a step closer to acquiring Cove Energy after Mozambique gave the deal the green light, removing one of the conditions of a takeover which will see the oil major access East Africa's huge gas reserves.

** Hoping to put an end to a four-year banking crisis, Spain's government effectively took over Bankia SA, one of the country's biggest banks, late on Wednesday after days of market anxiety over the lender's viability.

** German real estate group GSW and its former owner Whitehall Funds are bidding almost 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for a German real estate portfolio owned by Barclays , a newspaper report said on Thursday.

** Micron Technology is in talks to acquire Elpida Memory Inc's business, the companies said on Thursday, as the Japanese chipmaker tries to restructure after tough market conditions and stiff global competition drove it into bankruptcy protection.

** Morgan Stanley has emerged as one of the biggest shareholders in KPN, the Dutch telecoms group that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has set his sights on as a stepping stone into Europe.

** HSBC plc is in talks to sell its operations in Colombia, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay, as Europe's biggest bank continues to retreat from countries where it is too small or it does not see strong enough growth.

** RWE, Germany's No.2 utility, is in talks with parties interested in Horizon, the British joint venture it holds together with peer , Chief Financial Officer Rolf Pohlig told journalists, declining to give further details.

** JFE Holdings Inc said on Thursday that it plans to buy all shares in JFE Shoji Trade Corp that it does not already own through a share swap to streamline its steel production supply chain.

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